Herbert Theodore Shepard, 51, of Long Beach, California, was shot on April 5, 2014, during a drive-by shooting in the 2300 block of Eucalyptus Avenue and died of his wounds on April 8, 2014. Long Beach police found Shepard and another man with lower-body gunshot wounds after a shots-fired call around 9 p.m.; the other victim survived. An autopsy confirmed Shepard’s death was caused by a gunshot wound.

Shepard had worked for Continental/United Airlines for 26 years and was described by those who knew him as loving and giving. He was visiting a mother in Long Beach who had recently lost her son when he was struck, a detail family members say placed him in the wrong place at the wrong time. Detectives Todd Johnson and Roger Zottneck are handling the open investigation and police ask anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers.